Three evenings

For three evenings, the first part of last week we ate out with friends. It's tough to watch ones intake when you socialize over a drink and then have too many choices of cooked to order food.
Monday night was "The Quarter Bistro" 6904 Wooster Pike, Mariemont, OH (513) 271-5400. I posted comments about this place several weeks ago and returned because I was so pleasantly surprised. Monday was a very slow evening but the service remained very accommodating, with the Manager helping with the bar and bar service. The Quarter is strikingly attractive with a red and white color scheme both inside and on the patio.
After the Bombay I followed with an Apple and Gorgonzola Salad based on separated leaves of Belgium endive, crisp and very tasty. For a light main course I tried their Beef Short Rib Sliders, three small buns filled with pulled beef, caramelized onions and a pleasant horse radish sauce. I was very pleased. Marilyn had the "Quarter" Salad, mixed greens, tomato's and other assorted "goodies" which she followed with a medium sized portion of Angle Hair Pasta in a light, butter, oil and cherry tomato sauce, which looked tempting. Her report was positive.

Tuesday night after drinks here, with bridge playing friends, we coasted down the hill to "The Precinct" Delta and Columbia Parkway (513) 321-5454, always good, reliable and very welcoming. We only go 3 or 4 times a year, because steak is not high on our wish list, but it is hard to drive any distance, for that main course, when we are so satisfied only 2 or 3 block away. That evening Marilyn and I split a "bone-in" rib eye( she gets the bone, I the larger portion of meat) fixed medium rare, exactly as ordered. We almost always split a steak, a baked potato and the onion straws, at "The Precinct", and Tuesday was no exception. We each have our own salad as our choices are different and that way we feel virtuous, having extra greens. We were all full when the manager, in an act of kindness, sent over "Banana's Foster", just what none of us needed but also which none of us refused. Too much food, drink and above all calories for one, or many, evenings, but delicious.

Wednesday night the "Brown Dog Cafe", 5893 Pfeiffer Rd. Blue Ash OH 45242 (513-794-1613) was the evening destination. We started in Blue Ash, with cousins, for drinks and hors d'oeuvres and then drove to dinner. Again I started with a Belgium Endive salad, this one with roasted Macadamia nuts. Swiss cheese and "Granny Smith" apples. My main course was listed as"Pig and Fig" which consisted of roasted wild Boer, medium rare, and half pieces of fresh figs, a wonderful combination. The meat was beautiful with full body and served over polenta topped with sauteed spinach. All was moistened with a Bourbon Reduction which fit perfectly. Marilyn experimented with an Artichoke Lollipop, a baby artichoke stuffer with cheese, coated and fried. She followed with a half order of Asian Roasted Duck with several Asian accompaniments, rice, veggies and sauces.
Things went well until the bill arrived with a split charge, of which no mention was made during the ordering process, and I believe was not printed on the menu; and an inability to present separate checks which was awkward since the two couples differed, in a major way, with dinner and beverages. I spoke with the owner, the next day, and he did not seem concerned about either inconvenience. I left, after a delightful meal but in a poor mood.

The only other restaurant this week was "Pomi's Pizza" on East McMillan in Clifton. There on Friday night, after a movie, with our Granddaughter,the 3 of us split a salad and two wood fired Pizza's, before departing with a 3rd for our daughter who was unable to join us.